Health Information Patient Handout

Running head: HEALTH INFORMATION PATIENT HANDOUT 1

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HEALTH INFORMATION PATIENT HANDOUT 2

Health Information Patient Handout

Introduction

In the modern society, people have habit of eating unhealthy foods and being less active.

Considering the use of computer for work, most Americans are not active physically exposing

them to health risks. Because of this reasons, the statistics of overweight person has been

increasing. Womenshealth.gov. (n.d) records that 1/3 of the American adults are considered to be

obese and another 1/3 of the American adults is recorded to be overweight. Persons who are

either obese or overweight face significant health challenges and risks. The eating habits of

Americans should be changed significantly to improve healthy living. The management of the

body weight is appropriate to reduce risky healthy situation. Apart from the adults, most

American children are also obese. NIDDKD (n.d) records that around 17% of children in the US

is obese. Therefore, the paper analyzes the effects of obesity and documents the potential

credible websites.

Description of the Excess Body Weight

The health issue of excess body weight can be defined as the condition of a person having

excess body fat that increases health risks. Having excess body weight can be examined through

the Body Mass Index that considers a person’s weight and height. In the U.S, an average adult

male is expected to have a BMI of 26.6 and an adult female is expected to have a BMI of 26.5.

Excess body weight is caused by various factor including inherited genes, socioeconomic

impacts, cultural, metabolic, and environmental problems (The American Cancer Society, n.d).

Such factors should be managed well to prevent exposure to other health risks. Based on the U. S

CDC, persons with excess body weight have high risk of getting other health conditions

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including high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease among others. Obese persons do not

have high life expectancy due to the inability to control potential health problems.

Figure 1:

BMI of Adults Age 20 years and above.

Source: (NIDDKD., n.d).

Moreover, it is clear that being overweight and obese exposes a person to numerous

health risks such as strokes, diabetes, depression, and cancer among others. However, the cutting

of weight would help to minimize the risks of these health problems. According to a study

recorded by NIDDKD (n.d), obesity usually increases the risks of persons getting diabetes 20

times and also enhances the risks of having high blood pressure. Among the persons diagnosed

with obesity, there is a direct correlation between the risks of obesity and the BMI. A higher

level of BMI exposes persons to getting more disease.

In determining the impact of obesity on depression, it is clear that overweight person

have high risks of developing depression with time unlike the normal weight persons. Obesity

increases the likelihood of a person getting depression because both health conditions emerge

from the changing of the brain processes in responding to stress. Psychological aspects also push

for the increased depression developing among the overweight persons. Other factor of obesity

that could lead to depression is the odd eating patterns. Womenshealth.gov. (n.d) determined that

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depressed persons have 60% risk of becoming overweight. It is appropriate to manage the level

of depression to avoid severe obesity problems.

Depression is a major cause of obesity because some medications for treating depression

causes significant weight gain. Persons who are depressed are concerned about eating properly

and engaging regular exercises and thus make them prone to excessive weight gains. Increased

levels of stress hormone cortisol also alter the fact cells leading to fat accumulation (Gonzalez-

Campoy, 2016). Thus, obesity has a direct correlation with depression and mental illness and

proper action should be taken to deal with the health risks of obesity and being overweight.

Overweight problem is also strongly related with the health risks of diabetes. According

to the American Cancer Society (n.d), close to 90 % of the persons diagnosed with type-2

diabetes are observed to be obese. For year now, the risks of diabetes have been rising.

Increased level of blood sugar is a critical aspect of metabolic syndrome. When poorly managed,

diabetes exposes people to severe health problems and risks such as blindness and amputations.

Diabetes is recorded as one of the major leading causes of deaths in the U.S. Thus, diabetes

management is critical to reduce the body weight significantly.

Figure 1:

Percent of healthy, overweight, and obese adults for persons aged 20years and above in the US

from 2001-2007.

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Source: (The American Cancer Society, n.d)

The prevalence of obesity can be shown from the above figure 1 by sex and the racial-

ethnic affiliation. The estimates provided from The American Cancer Society (n.d) information

from three main race-ethnic entities in the United States including the non-Hispanic whites, non-

Hispanic blacks and the Mexican Americans. The risks of obesity remains higher in women

compared to the men in the society. However, among each ethnic group, the outcome was only

observable among the non-Hispanic white women. The risks of being overweight was relatively

higher for the men compared to the women, but the prevalence of obesity relatively lower for the

men compared to the women.

Obesity has significant problems including economic challenges. Within the

organizations, reduced productivity and increasing the rate of absenteeism because of the

economic burdens. Persons suffering from obesity have a higher likelihood to suffer from obesity

and reducing productivity (Paliy, et al., 2014). The employees suffering from higher workers’

compensation claims would increase the overall costs in the workplace. Apart from financial

problems, obesity could also lead to increased mortality rates as well as the susceptibility to other

health condition.

It is possible to take clear steps and measures in reducing the prevalence of obesity and

excess body weight in the United States. Successful strategies that have been implemented

include having a food diary, eating food products with high fibre content, removing tempting

products from the fridge, and avoiding eating food products with high carbohydrate content

(Gonzalez-Campoy, 2016). In the process of checking weight, stress management approach

would be critical. In spite of all, diet remains the only effective way of reducing weight.

Credible Websites

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The following websites are credible and providing quality information on the nature of

obesity and being overweight in the United States. For example, the American cancer society

website offers information on the impact of the excess body weight on the overall health in the

society. Womenshealth.gov offer information and statistics about obesity among the women in

the United States. All the credible websites also recommends for the affected persons to take

progressive actions in reducing the obesity condition because it has significant health

complications and problems. Based on these websites, it is clear that proper investment and

medical efforts should be put in reducing the menace of excess body weight. However, creating

awareness about excess body weight is at the core of managing body weight.

1. Gonzalez-Campoy, J.M. (2016). Obesity in America: A growing concern. Endocrine

web. Retrieved from https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/obesity/obesity-america-

growing-concern.

2. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (n.d). Health risks of

being Overweight. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-

management/health-risks-overweight.

3. The American Cancer Society (n.d). Excess body weight: A major health issue in

America. Cancer.org. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/diet-

physical-activity/body-weight-and-cancer-risk/health-issues.html.

4. Womenshealth.gov. (n.d). Overweight, obesity and weight loss. Womenshealth.gov.

Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/overweight-obesity-and-

weight-loss.

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References

Gonzalez-Campoy, J.M. (2016). Obesity in America: A growing concern. Endocrine web.

Retrieved from https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/obesity/obesity-america-

growing-concern.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (n.d). Health risks of being

Overweight. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-

management/health-risks-overweight.

Paliy, O., Piyathilake, C. J., Kozyrskyj, A., Celep, G., Marotta, F., & Rastmanesh, R. (2014).

Excess body weight during pregnancy and offspring obesity: potential

mechanisms. Nutrition, 30(3), 245-251.

The American Cancer Society (n.d). Excess body weight: A major health issue in America.

Cancer.org. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/diet-physical-

activity/body-weight-and-cancer-risk/health-issues.html.

Womenshealth.gov. (n.d). Overweight, obesity and weight loss. Womenshealth.gov. Retrieved

from https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/overweight-obesity-and-weight-loss.

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